Will The Culture War Save Our Economy?

This post with photos and an account of the scene yesterday at a Chick-fil-A in Austin made me happy that there will always be a Texas. Excerpts:

The crowd brought a kind of party atmosphere to the restaurant. The kids’ play area was full, as the line in the dining room snaked all the way around, dozens and dozens of Texans patiently waiting to order.

And there was this:

When hippies boycotted Whole Foods because its CEO opposed ObamaCare, I became a customer of the high-end grocery store, and in the three years since that boycott Whole Foods’ stock has gone through the roof. Now, lefty intolerance is driving a huge business increase to Chick-Fil-A. Maybe lefty boycotts are the key to getting American business back on its feet.

Hey, there’s a thought! I love the idea of buying delicious fried chicken — and doing so cheerfully — as a way to stand up to left-wing bullies. Maybe every Wednesday should be Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.

Better go on Friday, too. According to The New York Times (which says that most of the Chick-fil-A customers yesterday were Evangelical Christians, though they cannot possibly have known that; what, Catholics, Mormons, and plain old conservatives who resent the bullying, don’t like chicken?), here’s what’s coming:

People who support same-sex marriage and oppose the company’s position are organizing a kiss-in on Friday at the restaurants.

Seriously? If I supported same-sex marriage, the last thing I would want to see happen is gay protesters walking into Chick-fil-As nationwide and to start making out. Gosh, that’s going to do wonders for their cause. What a bunch of self-absorbed jackasses. Honestly, who wants to see straight people making out in a fast-food joint?

Think about how much good it would do conservative Christians to go into business tagged as gay-friendly and have a pray-in, or a hymn-singing? Yeah, they’d look like obnoxious idiots, because they would be obnoxious idiots.

about the author

Rod Dreher is a senior editor at The American Conservative. He has written and edited for the New York Post, The Dallas Morning News, National Review, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Washington Times, and the Baton Rouge Advocate. Rod’s commentary has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, the Weekly Standard, Beliefnet, and Real Simple, among other publications, and he has appeared on NPR, ABC News, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and the BBC. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife Julie and their three children. He has also written four books, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, Crunchy Cons, How Dante Can Save Your Life, and The Benedict Option.

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